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[quote user="al-in-chgo"] Did we ever figure out what kind of explosive torpedoes used?  Because if it's black powder, that's one of the most dangerous.  It can get wet and refuse to work at all, and then dry out and pose a literal "hang-fire" situation.  Did the railroad have explosive disposal squads in the 1950s and 1960s?  I don't think they had yet become common among police departments.  If the RR's couldn't handle it they probably had a contact with some contractor who understood blasting caps and powder or something.  I not even sure plastique existed back there.But did torpedoes have nothing more sophiscated to them than gunpowder?  - a.s. [/quote]I don't know what type of explosive was used, but it was a coarse, granular, yellowish powder formed into a solid block about 1-1/4" square by 3/8" thick.  This block was encased in a waterproof paper package that could rather easily be torn open.I don't know what could set torpedoes off besides running over them with a train or hitting them with a hammer-like tool.  I never heard of any concerns about them becoming unstable.  If it were possible for them to self-detonate or be detonated by jolts or bumps, and if it were possible for them to detonate each other while stored together in a container, then they would have been a major hazard for trainmen.  A dozen of them going off simultaneously in a caboose would probably kill the occupants.In an earlier post, the suggestion that torpedoes could damage rail or wheels is interesting.  I wonder about that.
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